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Returning for some book journaling
Jun. 23rd, 2021 07:22 pmHi! I still exist. I'm going to try a bit of reading journaling for the summer.
Starting with two books on the exciting things AFAB bodies do at a certain age:
Dr. Jen Gunter, The Menopause Manifesto
Heather Corinna, What Fresh Hell Is This: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You
( Why I am reading books on perimenopause right now )
I like Heather Corinna's take better, because (1) it's focused on perimenopause and that's what I need right now, and (2) it's funnier and more fun to read. Also, it's very good about not defining people who hit these hormonal and physical changes as "women." Corinna (who may be known to you as the founder of the wonderful sex education website Scarleteen) is nonbinary and very precise about possibilities for gender identity. Anyway, their black humor really gets me right now.
Dr. Gunter's book is more medical and more focused on menopause itself. Gunter carefully uses exact medical terms, but these are very confusing. For instance, she says that "perimenopause" means the menopause transition up to the year after the final menstrual period, rather than (as in common usage) the early stage of the menopause transition. Gunter is a great resource for the questions "Exactly what do we know about what happens to bodies during this process?" and "Which of these symptoms are dangerous and which are just obnoxious?" She's also good at saying which treatments are useful (exercise, CBT, various meds), which are total bunk (various other meds and compounded creams), and which are unfairly maligned but really helpful (hormone supplements in specific circumstances for people of specific ages). I don't love the pressure she puts on exercise for cardiovascular maintenance and preventing bone loss, but I guess that's just what I need to be doing.
Fun reading:
Katherine Addison, Witness for the Dead
( Expectation spoilers )
KJ Charles, Subtle Blood
I don't need a spoiler cut here, because all I want to say is that it was a terrific end to the trilogy in every way. Loved it.
Starting with two books on the exciting things AFAB bodies do at a certain age:
Dr. Jen Gunter, The Menopause Manifesto
Heather Corinna, What Fresh Hell Is This: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You
( Why I am reading books on perimenopause right now )
I like Heather Corinna's take better, because (1) it's focused on perimenopause and that's what I need right now, and (2) it's funnier and more fun to read. Also, it's very good about not defining people who hit these hormonal and physical changes as "women." Corinna (who may be known to you as the founder of the wonderful sex education website Scarleteen) is nonbinary and very precise about possibilities for gender identity. Anyway, their black humor really gets me right now.
Dr. Gunter's book is more medical and more focused on menopause itself. Gunter carefully uses exact medical terms, but these are very confusing. For instance, she says that "perimenopause" means the menopause transition up to the year after the final menstrual period, rather than (as in common usage) the early stage of the menopause transition. Gunter is a great resource for the questions "Exactly what do we know about what happens to bodies during this process?" and "Which of these symptoms are dangerous and which are just obnoxious?" She's also good at saying which treatments are useful (exercise, CBT, various meds), which are total bunk (various other meds and compounded creams), and which are unfairly maligned but really helpful (hormone supplements in specific circumstances for people of specific ages). I don't love the pressure she puts on exercise for cardiovascular maintenance and preventing bone loss, but I guess that's just what I need to be doing.
Fun reading:
Katherine Addison, Witness for the Dead
( Expectation spoilers )
KJ Charles, Subtle Blood
I don't need a spoiler cut here, because all I want to say is that it was a terrific end to the trilogy in every way. Loved it.
